This is a large family comprising, according to Mabberley (2008), 3175 species in 212 genera. It is closely allied to the Scrophulariaceae. Members are found mostly in the tropics, but occur also in the United States, the Mediterranean region, and in Australia.

On the basis of phylogenetic evidence, plants formerly classified in the Avicenniaceae are now placed in the Acanthaceae (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003). The 4–7 species in the single genus Avicennia L. are found on tropical coasts as constituents of mangrove vegetation (Mabberley 2008). Earlier classifications have included these plants in the Verbenaceae. The timber from all species is practically identical and has been investigated as a source of paper pulp (Record & Hess 1943, Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962).

The sapwood of Avicennia tomentosa Jacq. has been used in Java as a contraceptive (Quisumbing 1951).

[Further information available but not yet included in database]

Avicennia marina Vierhapper

(syns Sceura marina Forsskal, Avicennia officinalis L.)

Grey Mangrove, White Mangrove

This is the only species of Avicennia L. that occurs along tropical coastlines of the American continents and the West Indies. Record & Hess (1943) state that the yellowish powder contained in the heartwood is lapachol (see Avicennia germinans L. above).

Barleria L.

The following species (and others) are described as spiny by Darbyshire et al. (2019), variously having spiny stems, leaf margins, bracteoles, and/or calyces:

Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962) record that the Masai use the thorns to prick the skin around a snake bite in order to permit the sucking out or pressing out of blood.

Barleria prionitis L.

(syn. Barleria spicata Roxb.)

Barleria, Porcupine Flower

This prickly shrub has been used as a hedge plant, but is regarded as a serious environmental weed in Australia. The bases to the leaves are protected by three to five sharp, pale-coloured spines, each about 15 mm in length (Waterhouse et al. 2003).

According to Nadkarni (1976), the juice of this plant is used in Indian traditional medicine as an application to the feet in the rainy season in order to prevent cracks and lacerations; a paste of the root is applied to boils and glandular swellings; and a medicated oil prepared from this plant is applied to unhealthy wounds.

[Further information available but not yet included in database]

Barleria rigida Nees

(syn. Barleria irritans Nees varrigida C.B.Clarke)

Scorpion Thistle

This species, which forms a much-branched spiny shrublet, is one of the most widespread and variable species of Barleria in Namibia. Together with Barleria irritans Nees and Barleria bechuanensis C.B.Clarke from South Africa, it forms a difficult species complex (Darbyshire et al. 2019). Both the common name and the specific epithet irritans suggest a hazardous nature.

Blepharis capensis Pers.

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Blepharis stainbankiae C.B.Clarke

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Brillantaisia lamium Benth.

(syns Brillantaisia eminii Lindau, Leucorhaphis lamium Nees)

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Dicliptera chinensis Nees

(syns Diapedium chinense K.D.Koenig, Justicia chinensis L.)

Chinese Foldwing

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Dicliptera hensii Lindau

(syn. Peristrophe hensii C.B.Clarke)

False Buckwheat

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Eranthemum viscidum Blume

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Graptophyllum pictum Griffith

(syns Graptophyllum hortense Nees, Justicia picta L.)

Caricature Plant, Jamaican Croton

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Haplanthodes verticillata R.B.Majumdar

(syns Haplanthus verticillaris Nees, Justicia verticillata Roxb.)

Spiny Bottle Brush

A native of India, the leaves of this erect annual herb bear two spinous teeth at their tip, which are capable of inflicting mechanical injury.

Sesamin, sesamolin, and the structurally similar simplexolin have been isolated from an extract of the whole plant (Ghosal et al. 1979). Sesamin and sesamolin have been shown to elicit dermatitis in persons with contact sensitivity to sesame seed oil (see Sesamum indicum L., fam. Pedaliaceae).

Fresh juice from the leaves is used on Okinawa Island, Japan as a popular remedy for athlete's foot. The active principle was found to be an alkaloid-like compound named tryptanthrin (Honda & Tabata 1979).

Strobilanthes scaber Nees

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Thelepaepale ixiocephalus Bremek.

(syn. Strobilanthes ixiocephalus Benth.)

Waiti

This species, which grows in India, may cause painful itching, swelling, and blistering when handled (Behl & Captain 1979).

Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims

(syns Thunbergia erecta T.Anderson, Thunbergia grandiflora Roxb.)

Black-Eyed Susan, Suzanne aux Yeux Noirs, Schwarzäugige Susanne

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl.

(syn. Thunbergia grandiflora Roxb. varlaurifolia Benoist)

Blue Trumpet Vine, Laurel-Leaved Thunbergia, Purple Allamanda

[Information available but not yet included in database]

References

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2003) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141(4): 399-436 [doi][url][url-2]